macysthanksgivingfandomcom-20200214-history
Disney Parks
The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World and Disney World, is an entertainment complex in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, in the United States, near the cities Orlando and Kissimmee. Opened on October 1, 1971, the resort is owned and operated by Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, a division of The Walt Disney Company. It was first operated by Walt Disney World Company. The property, which covers nearly 25,000 acres (39 sq mi; 101 km2), only half of which has been used, comprises four theme parks, two water parks, twenty-seven themed resort hotels, nine non-Disney hotels, several golf courses, a camping resort, and other entertainment venues, including the outdoor shopping center Disney Springs. History with The Macy's Parade The 1st Walt Disney World float made its debut in 1971, alongside a brand-new Mickey Mouse balloon, in order to promote the then-new Magic Kingdom park. However, due to extreme winds and rain, the balloons that year were grounded, and the float had to debut alone. The design of the float features popular Disney Characters on top of the Cinderella Castle. The float appeared before or after the Mickey Mouse balloon when the latter made its proper debut in 1972 and in it's first few years, appeared alongside other Disney floats. This float and the Mickey balloon became crowd pleasers--until the 1980 Parade when the float was retired. The next year, the Disney Characters reappeared on a "Tencennial" float that was a redesign of the Queen Macy Showboat float, to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Walt Disney World. However, the float didn't appear before the Mickey Mouse balloon, but rather it appeared before the John Wl, North High School Blue Star Regiment Band, The float was retired the same year, and was later returned to its original form as the Queen Macy Showboat. The Mickey Mouse balloon was scheduled to appear in the 1983 Parade, but during inflation, his arm was torn, and later exploded. Due to this, the Mickey balloon was permanently retired. In 1984, a brand new float debuted, appearing after the Donald Duck balloon that reappeared in honor of his 50th birthday. The float made its final appearance in 1985. Since no Disney characters were represented in the parade (the first time since 1961), it appeared behind the Olive Oyl balloon, and it was never seen since. However, it was later recycled into the Beauty and the Beast float in 1992, which itself made only one appearance. In 2005, to celebrate the Happiest Homecoming on Earth event taking place at the Disney parks, the Marion-Carole Showboat was refurbished into the whimsical Ship of Dreams float. The float was given a refreshed paint job of gold and blue, similar to that of the event's colors. Additionally, blue and red banners were hung along the railing of the float. Adorning the float are various Disney characters, including classics like Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, to then-recent films like Hercules. Despite the float being stripped of the Disney branding after 2006, the colors of blue and gold remained. Since then, another Disney Parks float has yet to make an appearance. Category:Retired Floats Category:Floats Category:1971 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Category:1984 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Category:1981 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Category:2005 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Category:1970s Floats Category:1980s Floats Category:2000s Floats